My wife and I have narrowed our choice of first Class A motorhome purchase to ( first ever RV too):
(1)-2013 Newmar Bay Star 3310 Sport-brand new; this one is available immediately from a local RV dealer called Bucar's RV in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. This dealership is known for its stellar service and complete support, servicing ( they have been written up in the local newspaper, several awards), a tour of their facility makes this committment to the customer obvious, they host information seminars regularily. What is especially appealing is an added feature called 'RV Care'; whereby over 200 dealers across North America commit to looking after each others customers on a preferred basis (for a mechanically inept guy like me, this was important, I also have a special needs 11 year old who would not have the patience if we were stranded somewhere with a breakdown, nor would he allow me the time to concentrate on reading a repair manual etc.). I checked out this 'RV care' by posing as an RV'er with a breakdown-I called a dealer in another province and was amazed at the different treatment I got posing as a RVerr who didn't buy from a participating dealer versus one who did). This dealer is outstanding and gives us a warm feeling about being well cared for as first time RV'ers and the motorhome seems to be top quality with all the main features we want
(2)- 2014 Thor Hurricane 34S-same price as the Newmar, key difference seems to be the dealer, a firm called FraserWay RV who do not give us that warm, cared for feeling of Bucar's. They do not belong to the above 'RV care' but don't see the need for it as they claim all RV dealers pitch in and always try and help the 'out of towner',despite having to give priority to their own clients. While they are a large national dealer, it appears that each dealer is an independant franchise, so you really are at the mercy of the dealer locally. The staff and whole experience don't come close to the Bucar experience; The challenge is that we like the product better, the floor lay out and the leather upholstery is nice, other things like a slide down bunk above the front seats and a computer tray pull out on the passenger side are little extras we like. They would have to factory order the model and we would be looking at an 8 week delay.

Sorry to be so long winded, which way to go? The Newmar is lovely and wouldn't be the end of the world to select, we are mid to late 50's and intend to do a lot of RVing across North America well into our 70's we hope

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boy i would think the one you want is the one you want and the dealer may not be in the care program but i'm sure its alright....just ask them if they will take care of you and maybe put it on the papers you sign...jeff

Given that this is your first RV, and that you say you are not mechanically inclined, I would give serious weight to getting one from a dealer that will be there when you need them and is someone that you have confidence in. I guarantee you will be back there getting service. It'll make owning that RV a much more pleasant experience. If that other dealer didn't give you a warm fuzzy feeling when you were looking to buy, just wait till you see what they are like after the sale.

That being said, I wish you the best in your decision. You've got a lot of fun adventures ahead and your family will have a lifetime of memories.

My personal preference would be the Newmar; they are known for a quality product. I believe the Thor Hurricane is an entry level RV and in my opinion of the ones I've looked at not as good in the quality of construction and material as the Newmar.
RV's do have problems and will need service and a dealer can make a huge difference in your experience with it.

I also think the dealer can make all the difference in the world. Can Bucar's RV order you a Newmar that has some of the features that you like? We bought the coach that we liked from a dealer that was not very helpful and I had to take it back to the factory to have many small problems fixes. I did find dealers in both TX and AZ that looked after us. I would buy our coach again but not from the same dealer.

Hi. and welcome to the site. Being from Alberta I know your frustration with so few Dealers. When we were shopping I liked Bucars and definitely did not get a warm and fuzzy felling from Fraserway. We shopped Alberta and B.C. and eventually bought our [2]coaches from Westgate RV in Kelowna could not be happier with the dealer. Not to confuse the issue but there are several dealers in the Okanagan. But if you are near Bucars it may be a huge advantage. There is always small [usually small] issues with RVs and it is inconvenient to have to travel a long way to get service. Have not had to use the RV Care dealers yet. In the US you will find accredited mobile RV repairmen that come to you. We used one last week and he was done in a half hour, it would have been a whole day thing at a dealer. The other thing you should consider is Coachnet when you start to do your trips in case of breakdown on the road. We have AMA Premium Rv service but most people tell me it does not work well south of the border. That is my 2 cents worth.

Don't go near them, we tried to buy twice from them, only because we live close by. Rude, arrogant and did not take us seriously. Ended up doing a factory order from Westgate in Kelowna, great experience like the other poster. Would have bought a second one from them but they didn't stock American Coach. Bought our AC from O'connor in Chilliwack BC, pretty good experience as well. BTW, I saw a new Excursion by Fleetwood while I was there, very nice entry (pusher) coach with a cool drop down bed over the front seats. Don't make the most common mistake....buying something then realizing later you should have bought something bigger!! If you are towing a car, you should get a diesel.

If you plan to camp close to home more or less most of the time, the better service outfit would be a heavy weight item in making a decision.
If you plan to travel much, you will get what you get for service. You'll get to much better service locations by consulting referrals as you have done here. First thing to do is check around for where to go w/a particular problem.

Buying a new coach won't be issue free. All motorhomes of the level you are considering come with birth defects, but of the kind that are repairable. Roof leaks, stuff that wasn't hooked up properly, components that break w/in their warranty period, etc. Motorhomes are not really complicated, just really full of stuff that can break or perhaps some idiot on the assembly line took a shortcut assembling. I'd expect a year and 4 or 5 trips for service to work out bugs. Take a trip very near your selling dealer right off the bat to try everything out, and make a checklist of the fixits. You'll likely need to do some babysitting of the dealer to get things handled properly. If this would be a problem, I'd consider buying used. You'll save some money, but you also spend some time shopping to find a well cared for unit (of which there are plenty).